Why I am a priest (strictly speaking, a presbyter) in the Church of England today.
At the age of 18 I wrote off the Church of England. In the church and choir in which I grew up, it seemed more like a social club than anything else. We sang beautiful music, and worshipped in a lovely building, but there seemed very little of God in it all. I came across a church which was quite shocking; they believed in a fervent and simple way that God was real, and would intervene in their lives. So began a ten year sojourn in the Pentecostal church.
What moved me on was getting engaged to Jane. As she came from a Catholic family, and my family had not much interest in Christian faith at all, we found ourselves in touch with the vicar of Tilford, and made arrangements to be married there. His sermon at Epiphany made a big impact on me. An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the (larger) essence or meaning of something, a moment of inspiration, clarity, when it all suddenly makes sense … It gets this meaning from the Greek word, which means a revealing, a manifestation. Christians use it to talk about the revealing of the glory and majesty of Jesus Christ, most notably when foreign star gazers appeared to worship him as a young child. Matthew tells his story skilfully, showing how the creation (the star) and the scriptures (prophecy) point the way to the birth of the new King Of Israel.
For Anglicans, Epiphany is the missionary season when we celebrate that Christ is for all people. Note that the travellers seem to lose sight of the star and so head first for Jerusalem and the court of King Herod. The birth of the new king must first be announced to his own people, the Jews; they search the scriptures and are able to pinpoint the place where the Maji must continue their search. There is no indication that the scholars in Jerusalem want to engage in the search themselves. The story continues as the Maji set out again, and the star leads them to the promised place, and Christ is revealed to the Gentiles, to people of every race and time, to us.
So Epiphany is one of my favourite seasons. Next week we see how Jesus is revealed at his Baptism, the week after Christ reveals himself to Nathanael, and finally we have the Conversion of Paul. All the while we are centring on Jesus, and particularly that God is reaching out through Jesus to share his love with the whole world.
So what might we learn from studying these wise men a little more?
First, that God meets us where we are. The bible generally condemns astrology. Christians do not need to consult the stars, we rely upon God’s guidance and good common sense. But these wise men, however, were part of a numerous priestly caste familiar throughout the near east and originating in Persia, modern day Iran. Dreams and the heavenly bodies were the language they understood, and God spoke to them in the way that they were most open to.
Are you searching to know God better? I hope so. Our whole reason to be is “To Encounter god and Grow in Him”. But we often feel ill equipped and wonder how to get to know him. Fear not, for if you are seeking him, he will be found by you. He will reveal himself in a way that makes sense to you.
Second, be prepared for change. These wise men had to put their lives on hold, facing challenges and danger for upwards of four years. They expended time, effort and money in their quest to find and worship the newborn king. And were they the same when they eventually arrived home? So we also, if we are serious, open ourselves to the work of God’s Holy Spirit, to make us more like Jesus. There is an internal journey for each of us.
Third, we each need our own personal Epiphany. This is where we reach beyond religion. There are many things that we do to encourage and promote an encounter with God and growth in our knowledge of him. We build and maintain beautiful buildings; we sing hymns and songs and read the scriptures. We bring out crib figures and set up little statues of wise men. These are all good and helpful if they are pointing us forward to that true, heart knowledge of God, a personal relationship with him. An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the (larger) essence or meaning of something, a moment of inspiration, clarity, when it all suddenly makes sense …
This will be personal, unique, individual to each of us. We may start from a pagan background, as the Maji did. We may have an experience like that of one religious person who said: "About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?'” We may even have been brought up in a Christian home and undertaken work in the church, before having an experience like one Christian leader: “while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
This can be gradual and almost unnoticed, or it can be sudden and all consuming. We have already noted that the Maji were involved over several years in their search. I am not suggesting a ‘flash in the pan’ experience to you. Rather, I am inviting you to throw yourself open to a lifetime of exploration and growth.
We use the language of:
“Encounter God and Grow”: it is a personal journey of relationship and discovery.
“A Growing Community of Faith”: we each are invited as individuals, but find that we are brought into relationship with God and our brothers and sisters, growing in numbers and our understanding of his purposes.
We seek to be “Open for All”: God invites every single person in this world to worship his Son, and each of us seeks to be open to his purposes in our lives.
We are Christ centred, even when not knowing all the details or understanding everything.
We are each disciples: we take responsibility for our own growth and development in Christ.
We each engage in ministry: each of us has gifts and energies that we can use to bless others.
We each take part in building community: acknowledging that we do not always have things arranged to suit our own preferences.
We each take part in evangelism: we take seriously the missionary impulse that is imbedded in the gospel, and which we see lived our in the adoration by the Maji. The way that we live and work, and respond to the enquiries of others, can help others to come to their own Epiphany.
In the coming weeks, and especially during Lent when we will do a programme called 40 Days of Relationship, we shall explore different ways that we can make progress. I recommend the Praise Evening later today, the Day of Prayer on 16 January and the Quiet Day on 21 February. And this morning, as we celebrate the Epiphany, let us open ourselves afresh for all that God has for us.
Suggested Discussion Starters
1. What is your favourite season of the Church’s year (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, etc), and why?
2. What part of the Christian story does your favourite season remind you of?
3. How have you known Christ to be revealed in your life? Has your experience been of the more gradual kind, or can you recall definite steps forward?
4. What are the ways that you would like help to encounter God afresh, and to grow in your knowledge of him?
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